Welcome to L.A. Weekly’s Movie Guide, your look at the hottest films in Los Angeles theaters this week — from indie art house gems and classics to popcorn-perfect blockbusters and new movies garnering buzz. Check here every week before you make your big screen plans.

Opening wide

Friday, June 21

Child’s Play is the latest horror franchise to be exhumed and resuscitated by a major studio. The evil doll routine was old when Tom Holland did it in 1988. This one, directed by Lars Klevberg, brings the technology up to date by adding the device of a “smart” system that controls the whole house via a central computer. The filmmakers have endowed Chucky, the pint-sized killer doll, with the voice of Mark Hamill. Presented with this juicy role, Hamill sinks his teeth in accordingly. Viewers who remember the good ol’ days of subtle, psychological horror may want to stick with Dead of Night, Devil Doll, or even the admittedly not-so-subtle “Prey” segment from Trilogy of Terror.

Also opening Friday, June 21: Anna, Better Than Love, Burn Your Maps, The Command, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir, Nightmare Cinema, The Quiet One, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, Toy Story 4, Wheeler Winston Dixon: From Ancient History to A Hundred Years from Today, Wild Rose

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